Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell

Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell

Published in 2009 by The Black Library

Innocence Proves Nothing is a sequel to Scourge The Heretic, the second in the novels set in the Calixis Sector, in the Imperium of Man in the 41st Century. As can be ascertained, it is one of the Warhammer 40K novels, focused on The Inquisition.

This novel has a very RPG/Gaming/Campaign feeling to it. There are two separate groups of Acolytes (the term used in the Dark Heresy RPG for all Player Characters, used here to mean those people with talents and skills that have been chosen by faith or acts to aid an Inquisitor in their duties), working on separate lines of inquiry that eventually in the last portions of the book intersect.

The first team consists of characters introduced in Scourge The Heretic. Former Guardsmen Drake returns, along with the Assassin Keira and member of the Adeptus Mechanicus Vex with the team leader Mordecai Horst. They are aided on and off by other lesser supporting characters. The psyker Elyra is accompanied by former Guardsman Vos Kyrlock both also present in the book and following other leads on their own from the main group. The second team is affiliated with a different Inquisitor and the majority of them die in the first encounter they have, which comes about two thirds the way through the novel. Only two of those characters survive and join the main characters right before the puzzle pieces start to fall together.

It is suspected those two characters will play larger roles in the next novel, the ending ties up none of the plot threads and it is obvious this cannot be the end of the story. Where the different plot threads will end up can be guessed at, but it is not certain at all. With their inclusion it makes for about 7 core characters to be accounted for in the opening of the next, and presumed, novel.

There is a definite different feel to this novel compared to other WD/BL novels. This is due, it is believed, to the very strong influence of the Dark Heresy RPG on the composition. The worlds, the planets visited, the foes faced, are drawn from the RPG corebook. As the novel progressed it could be imagined that it was several game session to get to the action. The fights felt like encounters, well gauged to be a challenge, with little chance of failure. Each character has a chance to shine, in and out of combat, again making it a great resource for pacing and plotting tips to writers and gamers alike. It would be easy to make the novels characters for gaming purposes easily. This could add to a gaming session bringing in more flavor and intrigue. However nothing official could

The look and feel of the WH40k setting comes through fine, some new terms, very few flavor text terms from previous works and novels arrive. One welcome change from most WH40k novels is the inclusion of a Librarian of the Space Marines. Rarely are these characters included in novels, the Soul Drinkers novels by Ben Carpenter are a notable exception. The novels from fifteen some years ago (along with the army lists and wargear cards) featured the psychic powers of Librarians more. More recent novels seem to have moved away from this aspect.

This novel while having multiple psyker characters in it, does not feature or make them very prominent. This is a quibble from a long time reader (over twenty years) of materials in this setting. Other minor quirks are the prevalence of Bolt Weapons compared to the core setting philosophy. This trend does seem to have started about 8 or 9 years ago. These are just minor inconsistencies, which are easily explained away in light of the age and size of the setting, making local differences all too common.

Another glossed over element is the level of character information into what have been previously mysteries of the setting. Elements such and the Powers in the Warp, the role Horus played, mentioning Abbadon, how prevalent warp beings are in the novel, all run somewhat counter to past writings. It is very open feel to this novel, and the full on fanaticism prevalent in the overall setting is diminished to an extent in this reviewer’s opinion.

Overall it is a definite read for fans of the Warhammer 40K setting. For gamers playing Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Combination of the two, or a homebrew, it is an excellent source on pacing and decent flavor text. Especially for someone new to the overall setting, that desires to have a low key introduction to the War Torn Future.